1.3 - Leviathan

Rating

Votes

10

19%

22

9

20%

23

8

31%

35

7

17%

19

6

11%

12

5

2%

2

4

0%

0

3

0%

0

2

0%

0

1

0%

0

Average Rating

8.2

Votes

113

Synopsis

No one lives to old age in the village. When their Time is come, they are taken and never seen again. That is The Way. And, should anyone try to break with the established order of things, then the fury of Herne the Hunter is unleashed...

When the TARDIS materializes near a castle in this mediaeval society, the Doctor and Peri befriend Gurth, a terrified youth who is attempting to flee his fate. And Herne is closing in...

Why does the local baron impose the culling? What is the secret of Zeron? And who are the Sentinels of the New Dawn?

I thought the sound track was a bit sparse, nice drums though. Lots of nice realistic sounds: grass being trampled underfoot, hunting horn and Dogs barking. Lots of actors being recycled though, so some of the voices sound a little forced. I love the attention to detail at the beginning - when they are in the Tardis at the beginning and the Doctor is under the console trying to fix the Tardis you can hear his voice muffle slightly when he turns around. Full of twists and good, varied characters. One of the security doors jamming because of rust at the beginning of the second episode was a bit of an "Eh?" moment.

An excellent story, one of the legendary Lost Stories, this one having been rehearsal ready and therefore not a mere outline, sketch or bare bones treatment. This maturity of script shows through in spades, because there is plenty going on here, none of the typical padding, and none of the pointless discursions BF sometimes has to fill a story in with.

The accents here range from standard Pigbinese medieval "English" - very mild Pigbin Josh levels in this case thank the stars - to the evil EastEnders from the spaceship Icarus.

A very good plot, awesome use of science fiction tropes, and some lovely acting. Nicola Bryant as Peri gets to act young but still let loose with some post-watershed very mild language - "hell!" etc.

This has a large cast, but it doesn't drown out the leads or the story, and it is a wonderful story to listen to in one big hit.

Leviathan is a story originally commissioned for Season 22 for which there's no official explanation for why it wasn't made. However, the reason is obvious: the BBC could not afford to make it properly. As Nicola Bryant said in the extras, it would have taken a year's budget to do it. Instead, the script was adapted by Paul Finch (the son of the script's original writer Brian Finch) and the result is a marvelous and very cinematic audio drama.

The Doctor and Peri appear to land in Medieval England where a village is sending teenagers out to die at the hands of the monster known as Herne, who history indicates was little more than a myth. The Doctor is led to investigate and he and Peri encounter a group of young rebels.

The twists that the story takes from there show the imagination and excitement that is central so many great Doctor Who stories. The action is exciting and thrilling with great monsters and superb battles, as well as an absolutely stunning soundscape that really helps your mind grasp the massive scale of the story. The concepts are thrilling and incredibly clever including the ideas behind the Sentinels of the New Dawn and the Leviathan itself.

The story also has some great moments for our leads. Peri has one of her finest stories and has a great scene where she rallies the rebels. The Doctor show's some interesting character moments from his initial reluctance to become involved to a brilliant sword fight to a climatic battle with the villains, and a final philosophical and melancholy moment in the TARDIS at the end.

Overall, this is one of the must-listen to Lost Stories and ranks right up there with the best work Colin Baker did on TV as the Doctor.

A very well-written story that even put me in the mind-set of the regular monthly stories at times. However, there were so many plot strands running through the second episode that it did at times become slightly convoluted. However, that doesn't take away from a very interesting story, with a killer cliffhanger...